Dooling v. Dooling
303 Neb. 494
| Neb. | 2019Background
- Shawn and Kristina Dooling married in 2001, separated July 2014, and divorced by decree in January 2018; three children were involved.
- Shawn is a career La Vista police officer with wages, pension, and accrued vacation/comp/ sick time; Kristina worked part-time during the marriage and obtained full-time work in 2015.
- Temporary orders (Aug 2015) gave Kristina primary possession, Shawn regular parenting time, and ordered child support and mortgage/house obligations; the marital home sold in May 2016 with net proceeds of $20,857.44 held pending trial.
- Trial addressed custody/parenting plan, child support, alimony, and division of marital assets (including retirement and employment benefits); trial court valued assets as of Aug 1, 2015.
- The decree awarded joint legal custody, labeled Kristina as primary possessor but implemented a parenting plan that resulted in joint physical custody (Kristina 193 days, Shawn 172 days), ordered child support ($882/mo), alimony ($500/mo for 60 months), equal division of retirement, division of vacation/comp time, reimbursements from house proceeds, and certain debt allocations.
Issues
| Issue | Shawn's Argument | Kristina's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Child support calculation (income components & custodial days) | Court miscalculated nontaxable income, health premiums, retirement contributions, and custodial days; should reduce obligation | Court omitted Shawn’s disability and misallocated exemptions/expenses | Court reversed and remanded: include $763.36/mo nontaxable disability, correct health premiums ($72.78 self; $177.80 children), retirement $464.59, custodial days 172 for Shawn/193 for Kristina, and correct dependency exemptions; allocate direct child expenses per statute. |
| Division of house sale proceeds | Court improperly reimbursed Kristina for premarital expenditure (air conditioner) and over-awarded proceeds | Kristina sought reimbursement and greater share based on work/equity while in sole possession | Modified: award Kristina $11,238.72 and Shawn $9,618.72 (court’s larger reimbursement for prior-premarital A/C rejected). |
| Treatment and division of employment benefits (vacation/comp/sick) | Valuation date wrong (separation July 2014); benefits are illiquid and cannot be paid within 90 days | Benefits earned during marriage are marital; Kristina seeks half of sick time too | Court held vacation and comp time are deferred compensation under statute and marital; valuation date Aug 1, 2015 was reasonable; ordering payment within 90 days upheld; denial of half of sick time not an abuse of discretion. |
| Custody / joint physical custody | Shawn requested joint physical custody; parenting plan supports his requested schedule | Kristina argued she did not consent and contended decree awarded her primary/sole custody; she sought more summer time | Court construed the parenting schedule as joint physical custody (172/193 days) and found it in children’s best interests; award affirmed. |
Key Cases Cited
- Osantowski v. Osantowski, 298 Neb. 339 (applies de novo review and equitable-division framework)
- Hotz v. Hotz, 301 Neb. 102 (annualizing income for child support)
- Fetherkile v. Fetherkile, 299 Neb. 76 (burden on party claiming property is nonmarital)
- Tyma v. Tyma, 263 Neb. 873 (marital estate includes property accumulated through joint efforts)
- Wiedel v. Wiedel, 300 Neb. 13 (factors for alimony and standard of review)
- Leners v. Leners, 302 Neb. 904 (sufficiency of decree/attachments to allocate child expenses)
- Becher v. Becher, 299 Neb. 206 (construction of custody labels vs. parenting time)